condensed master

Will Bonner
people that would cause you to react this way?"
"No. I started to take precautions after Dan appeared that night."
The whole incident had overshadowed his reason for being here in the first
place and placed him in no mood for discussing what had occurred earlier in the
day. It was as if Margaret was reading his mind.
"Your reason for being here must be urgent otherwise you would have phoned,
add to that the fact that you're here late in the evening when you could be with
your family is another indication."
"Dorothy knows I'll be late, but if she knew I was alone with another woman
in a secret hideaway she would use more than a shotgun on me!"
Margaret laughed. "Your conscience is still bothering you then?"
"Yes, it always will."
He was now beginning to feel more relaxed and thinking of how to start. The
problems of purposely leaving information out, in an endeavour to offset any
trouble he may encounter, were uppermost in his mind. But he concluded that it
would eventually resurface with devastating effect, prompting him to start from the
beginning and relate everything that had happened.
Margaret's eyes opened wider with every sentence. He could see that she was
having difficulty containing her excitement. She got up and walked towards the
kitchen and then turned. "Do you realize that you are probably the only person in
Australia outside the small group of politicians that will be involved, that's privy to
this information?"
"I'm not privy to any information other than the fact that there is to be a
gathering of people and a talk. It may turn out to be only just that." Will was trying
to put a negative emphasis on the discovery, hoping to lessen the intensity of
interest. He would have to fight every inch of the way to keep his involvement in
this affair to a low-key.
"You know as well as I do Will that the content of those tapes, slides and film
will be classified. We can't do anything about the film, but the tapes and slides will
have to be copied." Will could feel the noose tightening around his neck, but he
was looking for any excuse to offer up resistance.
"There's got to be at least two hours of slides and synchronized taped
conversations, plus commentary on the night. Without specialized equipment it
would be a mammoth task, practically impossible!"
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